Black Masks
by fatalshow
Summary: Alex has returned to school after recovering from his almost fatal gun shot wound, but as usual nothing goes to plan and his school is infiltrated! R
1. School assembly

Disclaimer : Don't own anything! This is my first Alex Rider fic so please read and review!

**Black Masks – Chapter One**

Alex Rider was no ordinary person. In fact he was one of the most feared MI6 agents worldwide, defeating war lords and preventing complete annihilation. He had fought and won against the best defeating the odds each time. But the most extraordinary fact about Alex Rider was his age. At 15 he'd become an international legend and was currently sitting amongst his fellow pupils at Brookland High School in London. The fair haired, well built boy had returned to school that term to battle against rumours of his recurring disappearance. The majority of the school believed that he'd had an operation to remove his tonsils, whilst the others thought he had been in a Juvenile prison for mugging an old lady. Neither of these were true. Alex had returned from a mission with the infamous terrorists : Scorpia. He had betrayed them to his government and few were lucky to live after such a blow. Alex had been shot once in the chest, a mere inch above his heart causing a near fatal wound. It had taken pure determination to pull back from the descending darkness but he had managed and was now stuck in what could be called the most boring assembly in history. He had no intention fo returning to the world of espionage and danger, all he wanted was a normal life. Alex sat fiddling with the corner of his school blazer as he glanced around, his body involuntarily tensed. The others around him had dosed off slightly and small snores could be heard throughout the beige themed hall. His friend Andy had started something in his sleep about cheese. The headmaster was droning on about morals at the podium successfully causing the majority of the student body to wish him a slow and painful death. Shaking his head Alex returned to being painfully paranoid,

The sun was shining outside happily, the trees were green and full of life. But something seemed amiss. Alex couldn't but his finger on it but he kept watching for a sign of any abnormal activity, he could feel something was wrong within his bones. The ceiling creaked quietly, most would have missed it but not Alex. The lights flickered gently but the headmaster ploughed on. He roamed his eyes over the skylight and suddenly saw a flash of black material disappear from a corner something clicked within the depths of his brain – Combat Jackets. He had had enough experience with them to recognise one when he saw it.

"Not now.." muttered Alex slightly panicked, when would they leave him alone! He tensed and moved forward ready to spring into action at a moments notice. He stood quietly, barely notice and made his way from his aisle. A teacher glared at him from the stage as he was wandering into the centre of the aisle. He shook his head at her, he would have to explain later about his strange behaviour. Suddenly the hall erupted into a mess of explosions, raining shards of glass and deafening screams. Alex threw himself roughly to the ground, pulling a frozen class mate down with him. He glanced up and saw black figures descending from the roof and landing crouched on the dusty floor with weapons raised at the students. The dust had began to clear but Alex started to run in that crouched position, hoping that the infiltrators hadn't seen him yet. He heard a voice calling for him not to be so fool-hardy and to come back but he dismissed it. This was his battle not theirs. He knew who they were by the symbol sewn into their combat gear. Scorpia wouldn't leave him alone until he had killed the whole lot of him or he was dead. Alex cringed at the thought of running from them for a lifetime, that would be torture in itself. Teachers and pupils alike were cowering underneath their chairs watching as the brave and possibly insane boy strode before them. Alex straighted up as he reached his destination, he was now standing in the centre of the hall within the circle of Scorpia agents.

"Alex, get down now!" shrieked his mathematics teacher from somewhere to his left. Smirking slightly at his teacher's obliviousness he stepped forward. One of the black glad figures stepped forward to meet him.

"I wouldn't worry so much ma'am, Alex Rider is well known for his _survival_ ability." said an amused deep voice from behind the mask. His black eyes were twinkling as he took in the 15 year old super spy. He had a well built but slim body. Every inch of skin was covered with the protecting black kevlar. The dust had settled and a few brash students had looked up to watch the unlikely pair. Alex just smirked at the man's comment, well it was true.

"you see the Alex Rider you see here before you is a farce. Well at least partially. According to our sources you all believe he has had _a bout of sickness_ -" Alex tensed again, they couldn't reveal that he was a spy! His life was over if they did. How could he expect to be normal now? A murmur of speculation rippled throughout the hall. Some students were trying to placate those who had gone into shock at the sudden turn of events. One minute in assembly, the next being held hostage by some armed men who apparently know Alex somehow. Silence settled again apart from some sobs from the right corner.

"Lies.-" said the man quietly, seething with fury, "This boy has been working with the MI6 as their _superstar spy." _he spat. Alex smirked cheekily at him, mock saluting to him.

"Glad you know who I am." he replied confidently, to the surprise of the hall.

"How could I not! You brought down Herold Sayle! Point Blanc! Alexei Sarov! Damian Cray! You are the little shit who has ruined so many of our carefully laid plans. Not to mention you betrayed us, betrayed those who took you in!" roared the masked man. His eyes slightly bulging A lot of people gasped. They had heard of the deaths of the multimillionaires in the news, but had never associated them with Alex in a million years. Alex smirked at the man's obvious annoyance at being defeated so many times, maybe next time they would try harder.

"We shot you and you _survived!_" roared the man one last time before pointing the gun at Alex. The mouth of the gun was pointed at the center of his chest. Alex could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the echo of his last gun shot would pressing eagerly into his skin, a ghost of screams reached his ears and his muscles tightened, adrenaline pouring into his veins.

Screams erupted again as they watched a class mate live his final moments. The mathematics teacher from earlier frozen to her place, her chest tight watching and ignoring the shards of glass pricking her sweaty palms.

"This time you wont be so lucky." sneered the man. In an instance Alex struck, using lightening reactions to spin and strike the mans wrist with his foot, jarring the arm and causing excruciating pain. The gun fired before he dropped it clattering to the floor sending a bullet hurtling into the unbroken windows at the side. The man screamed out a profanity in what sounded like Russian but suddenly lashed out at Alex with almost impossible speed. Ducking quickly Alex felt the foot whistle above his head, if it had struck him he'd almost definitely be dead. Taking advantage of the man's distraction Alex kicked him sharply in the flesh of his stomach and slamming the heel of his hand into the mask. He heard a satisfying crunching sound as the man's nose broke. Fuelled with anger the man punched Alex squarely in the temple. The world crumbled from beneath him and he slumped to the ground, absorbed by the engulfing darkness. The pain overwhelming him. All he could remember was the smell of hot blood mingling with fresh grass cuttings.

_Please review! xx_


	2. Shot Messenger

**Black Masks – Chapter two**

Alex's eyes screaming in pain as light slowly filtered to his brain. His legs felt unnaturally heavy. He felt a hand lift his, caressing it in a gentle touch. A groan escaped his cracked lips as the world rushed back to him.

_Assembly_

_Attack_

_Scorpia_

_Darkness_

"Alex?" asked a small voice somewhere to his left, he struggled to recognise it.

"Arrrgghh" he responded attempting to allow his brain work his mouth, the light became clearer as he blinked. He was lying in a simple blue bed in a clean cut white room with a large television propped up on the wall across from his and rich curtains shrouding the windows. He was back at St Dominic's. _Damn. _To his left stood a pale Jack Starbright..

"Thank god you are awake, I was so worried about you!" said Jack, puffy red eyes standing out against her pale freckly skin. She grasped is hands as she frowned. "I don't know what the hell you were playing at standing up to those guys but you are damn lucky that MI6 appeared when they did! The whole school is in uproar! The kids and their families have been taken into hiding." rambled his carer until he coughed nervously, hoping she would stop.

"What happened just after i got knocked out?" he asked curiously, desperately wanting to know it was good news.

"Alan Blunt got word from the team which keeps an eye on you, they told him that the school had been attacked so he sent a team. But they only arrived shortly after you went down. Scorpia retreated pretty quickly after they had arrived. Leaving only a warning." said a familiar voice from the doorway. Alex looked round to see the always gray Mrs Jones, her dark eyes looking worried as she took in the sight of the junior spy in a hospital bed. Jack jumped beside him but Alex just nodded in acknowledgement, he wasn't about to stand up and salute!

"They left one clear message though." continued the deputy head as she took a seat on the other side of Alex. She paused to pull out another infamous mint and pop it into her mouth with obvious relish. "Your school has become a clear target of this new branch of Scorpia. The lives of all 2600 students are in danger if we do not act."

"Who was the man who knocked me out?" asked Alex, his stomach twisting and his hand started to hurt from Jack's incessant squeezing.

"We are unsure at the moment but it is certain that they sympathise with Scorpia. Our research shows that this may the initial attack before a wide spread offence on the UK. Effectively we may as well be on the brink of another war." grimly spoke Mrs Jones, her sucking stopping temporarily. "Our resources tell us that they have various weapons hidden through out Eastern Europe. I have not found if this attack is the orders of any particular country or person, but it seems to be revenge for the intervention of MI6 during the last year. Mainly your actions."

"You mean..you mean that because I stopped all those people...They are going to kill off my schoolmates, their families and possibly destroy our country!" stuttered Alex, clutching the bed sheet in a moment of coherent fear.

"They see our establishment too much of a threat in current world events to continue existence as one of the higher powers." confirmed Mrs Jones, inside she wanted to protect the boy in front of her, but the job must be done. "But we have a plan. Something which has not been done before your time, our experience with you have confirmed that using the younger generation as agents proves often more effective than average." she paused to look at Alex, unsure of his reaction. His face had calmed and he looked passively back at her.

"A group of specially trained members of your school will help you to obviate the attack with the help of various divisions throughout the MI6. They shall be chosen by you and trained by you and a SAS instructor. Do you understand Alex?"

"Understand! They know nothing of our world! You mean you want to throw more people like me into the battlefront, let us do the dirty work! It's unfair and you know it." he shot back, teeth clenched as he tried to reign in his anger. "I will not let you do the same with them as you did with me." he ground out.

"Alex, there is no choice. It is a matter of national security. The lives of thousands are at risk. If we do not do this we have no other action to take. You are our only hope!" argued Mrs Jones. Alex sighed, being a spy was supposed to be fun, secret adventures and exotic locations. Not choosing whether you will risk the lives of dozens of school children and possibly your own country.

"Fine"

* * *

The next thing Alex knew was that he was being bundled out of the hospital, dressed quickly in expensive clothes and a comb ran through his hair before being almost thrown into the back of a sleek black car with tinted windows. 

"Where the hell are we going?" he asked tiredly, rubbing his temples trying to alleviate the pain gathering behind them. Things were happening too fast.

"The holding area for your school and teachers. They are all safe and well, we will be briefing them on the situation." said Mrs Jones whilst staring out of the window at the passing blurred buildings.

Jack sat nervously on his left again, playing with her hair. "Are you used to this?" she whispered in his ear, Alex sighed again, "You never get used to this." he said grimly. They remained in thoughtful silence as they seemed to slow down. As with Liverpool St the car descended sharply down a ramp, plunging the car into an ethereal darkness. Alex tried to fight off the disturbing sense of claustrophobia that threatened to take over him. He breathed deeply wincing as the stitched gash running along the right of his face stretched. He put his hand against the bulle scar he would have for the rest of his life, memories flooded back and he was suddenly not so sure he wanted to continue with this.

"Come on Alex" instructed Jones as she stepped out of the car into a well lit area, a small metal door sat in the distance. Slight cobwebs wafted from the ceiling and the smell of oil hung thickly in the air. He followed her through a series of dizzying corridors arriving at a set of heavy wooden doors. He felt intimidated. Alex could almost hear the movement of hundreds beyonds the doors, the muffled voices and especially the fear. A guard stepped froward from where he was flanking the doors and gracefully swung them open then stepping back and saluting to Mrs Jones. She nodded and stepped through, her black shoes clicking on the varnished floor. Inside lay a great hall, full of seats and tables. Along the back wall sat long tables of refreshments, emergency supplies and phones. Along the wall adjacent to that rested hundreds of suitcases, apparently the families were able to grab a few things. Alex and his company were standing on a platform looking out into a crowd of people milling around the place and some crying. Alex swallowed his nervousness and sat in the chair with his name card on it. A great podium with a microphone sat in front of him. Hanging from the walls were massive screens with the MI6 logo emblazoned upon them. Mrs Jones climbed upon the podium and coughed slightly. "May I have you attention please! Will every sit down and remain quiet. Every thing will be explained shortly." She stepped down just as Alan Blunt appeared seemingly out of no where. He face neutral and suit plain. Alex gritted his teeth again, the man made him angry. He watched as Blunt took the podium watched by curious faces.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you grave news, the attack today on your school has resulted in grave revelations..." he began. Alex listened quietly, sickened as the man told so many people that their lives were now in extreme danger. The whole world was in danger, it could come falling apart at any moment. He paused at the end of his damning speech, letting the news sink in. Suddenly a voice rang from somewhere, "What was the boy doing?". Alex cringed, it was his turn.

Alan Blunt swallowed heavily and licked his lips, "Agent Alex Rider will be the one to save us."

* * *


	3. Black Machines

Black Masks – Chapter 3

**Black Masks – Chapter 3**

Alex looked around uncertainly, the sea of tear-streaked faces watching him, waiting for him to make a mistake, to confirm that he was merely a child in the grand scheme of things. The thing was, they were far to close to the truth, and that made Alex uncomfortable. The lights glared down on him making his eyes water as he moved to the microphone the heels of his black shoes clicking, he was raised up on the podium making him feel vulnerable and defenseless. He coughed to clear his throat. He could still taste the bitter copper of blood in his mouth as he swallowed, "I may as well start from the beginning." He muttered into the microphone, wincing at the lame introduction. He was no leader to inspire faith and action; he was a school boy who for once desperately wanted to get back to his French vocabulary homework. He looked away from the gray faces of students he shared classes with, his life had been bared to them all and there was no taking that back.

"Two years ago my uncle, Ian Rider, was murdered by the man you know as Herold Sayle. My uncle was a spy acting on orders from the MI6 and he died in the line of duty, murdered by an assassin. From childhood I had been unwittingly trained to take his place, and upon his death I was sought out and forced against my will to participate in these spy games. Do not think this has been entirely out of my own will; I have been black mailed and coerced into returning to the line of fire over and over again and trust me as soon as this is over I'm leaving this business forever. My life as a spy has been hidden through a veil of sick notes and absences, until now. The big cheese of underground paramilitaries, Scorpia, has declared war on anything affiliated with me. That's including you." He paused gravely, taking in the shocked faces surrounding him and feeling that stab of guilt hit his gut. He tugged at his collar trying to loosen the tight button and silk tie. The sounds of sobbing resonated from the left corner, he turned his face away as if hiding and continued,

"Now I have to request something that you will not like in the least. I need volunteers to help me strike against this and take them down. Parents I know you are scared, but this is the only way, they will not leave you or your family alone until you are dead. I don't want to do this and I'm pretty sure you don't want to either but we have to. If Scorpia succeeds, this country, not that I'm a patriot, will be done for. For now you will have to look past the school boy you see in the corridors, I need people who are physically fit and willing to accept the challenge. Experience in martial arts would be fantastic by the way." He added wryly, wishing this would be over soon. The hall exploded in noise. Alex stood in the heat, fear and noise, his stomach churning and his mind pacing. He turned to face Alan Blunt, his face turned to stone. "Well what do we do now?" he demanded, his temper flaring at the neutrality in the plain man's face. He would still have good night sleep tonight regardless of what transpired. "I will go through the legalities then we will begin to register those who are willing to participate. At 20.00 hours you and your team will be flown to a secure area to begin your training. Jones will have the briefing file ready for you. If you like you can return to your room and begin to prepare." Blunt replied mildly before brushing past Alex and replacing him at the podium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen…." He began, but Alex didn't hear anything after that, he'd already strode off the makeshift stage and through the exit.

* * *

The feeling of cold hit him hard on the face as he left the stuffy fear filled hall. Goosebumps rose along his arms as he followed a guard along the darkened passages to the car park he'd arrived in. The dark vehicle ready and the anonymous guard standing with the door open waiting for him. Alex fighting against his urges to try and make a run for it slid into the leather interior of the car having resigned himself to his duty. A short time later Alex was ripping off his suit almost frantically. Tossing his silk tie to the ground and falling down onto his bed he tore off his socks and trousers as if they were on fire. Clambering onto his feet he dashed into the marble bathroom of his hotel and plunged himself into the hot shower, gasping at the hot water rolled down his back and legs. He ran his hand through his wet hair feeling the water hit his face; a wild manic grin caught his mouth. He wanted to wash away all his responsibilities and past, he wanted it all to go away. He stood with his face tilted against the water for a good few minutes before gathering his strength and slowly turning the shower off. He stood, naked in the steamy cubicle panting for air then grabbed a towel and started to dry himself off ignoring deep scars and wounds from past adventures. He changed into combat gear and dropped down into the sofa. He opened the dossier and started to absorb all he could about the target at hand. Pictures of war-torn men and their sins were printed in black and white. It was a shame that it wasn't that simple.

* * *

Alex felt like nipping himself, "_This isn't a really twisted dream"_ he thought as he stood before a group of 50 recruits, no, children. All were his age or older yet they were standing looking at him with fear and reverence. They looked out of place in their black combat gear, like sheep dressed as wolves. Alex sighed, "In a few minutes you will be separated into teams of 10, helicopters will transport us to a remote location. There you will begin your crash-course training in weapons and subterfuge. If you do not meet the standard you will be sent home for the safety of yourself and your team. I am your superior, you will listen to what I say, deviate from that and you will never cross me again." Alex smiled inwardly at his bad-ass act, some of the people standing before him could probably beat him to a pulp. Gordon Davies in year 13 was a 4th Dan in Ju-jitsu, even his stance showed his power and agility. A few of the rugby players stood, backs straight with their muscles straining against the black fabric. Alex felt like a shrimp beside them but they weren't to know that. The whirring of helicopter blades led by spot lights distracted him, dust rose from the run way as they glided into place a couple of hundred meters from the group. The children dressed as soldiers shielded their eyes from the glaring lights of the black metal monsters of machines that would carry them to their boot camp. Alex started shouting his orders and they ran to obey. The joy.

* * *

_Please review :) I'm sorry I don't really like this chapter. If anyone is willing to be a beta please say so in a review/message. xx  
_


	4. Oh Damn

**Black Masks - Chapter 4**

The cold air whipped across my face as I stumbled towards the chopper. Rider was barking orders to us with the authority of a seasoned marine. His voice magnifying and carrying through the grim evening. My black gloved hand gripped the cold metal of the black hawk and I pulled myself in, joining four of my class mates. I threw myself into the nearest seat and strapped myself in. The clouds outside were darkening, shadows growing longer and the horizon growing greyer by the second. I took a second to mentally step back and see the whole picture. It was surreal and almost comical. I was sitting in a war chopper, dressed from head to toe in combat gear, on my way to training camp under the command of Alex Rider. The world span around me as reality hit me another slap across the face. The blades whirred loudly as we prepared for lift-off, the runway was clear now. I clutched the edges of my seat as the ground lifted away from beneath us; I glanced around to see my group. There were two other guys and three girls. The blond girl was a friend of my little sister, she was only 15 but was a fantastic athlete. I knew Pete, the same age as me; I'd played rugby with him for 3 years. I nodded at him, his face was pale and he clutched onto his seat mirroring my position. I realised that I must look as sickly terrified as he was right now. There was no point shouting over the whirring of the blades so I settled in for the night time ride and closed my eyes against reality.

* * *

The army lied. It was not cool, exciting or glamorous to be in the army. It was damn right difficult. I already missed my bed and the brain dead monotony of the television. We were finally dropped off in a small remote camp, broken into groups and sent off running, no _marching_ to bed. The small metal frame creaked as I moved on it. I clenched my eyes shut as the wind howled outside. I had none of my personal possessions, no mobile phone or iPod, just the regulation kit given to all the new recruits. All the same, uniform and dreary. Now we were lying in army cots in uniform lines, our meager temporary possessions stored in a metal cabinet next to us.

"Michael?"

I grunted in response from my foetal position on my bed,

"Michael?"

I gave up and sat up, shivering against the cold air.

"Yeh what's up?" I mumbled to Pete, who was lying on his side in the bed next to me.

"Do you think Rider had to do this? Y'know all the training?" he whispered, his eyes glinting in the darkness, I slumped onto my side listening to the lack of sleeping sounds from my camp-mates. Obviously no-one else could sleep either.

"I suppose he did, He'd probably been about 14 at the time." My mind reeled at the thought of it,

"Its madness, he's been hiding it from everyone for ages! I thought the kid just got sick a lot but hey it turns out he just got shot through the chest!" Apparently Pete was finding this as hard a concept as everyone else.

"And he survived" I mumbled,

"I wonder what he's going to make us do" whispered someone to the left of me,

"Will we get guns?"

"I wonder if he's ever _killed_ anyone"

"Nah he's probably lying about loads of it, no-one our age would be do this kind of stuff normally…"

I groaned and shoved the pillow around my head.

* * *

I groaned again. But this time it was out of sheer pain and exhaustion. We had started training at 0530 hours that morning. Rider had marched into the dormitory and ordered us up and out of bed. The sleep clouding my vision I struggled to pull on my unfamiliar training gear and almost fell on my face. We finished dressing and stood at attention. Rider strode down the aisle between the beds and stopped in front of me. His dark blue eyes coldly observed me. Despite being 2 years older than him I felt like shrinking back. I kept my back poker straight and held my head high.

"Michael Taylor?"

"Uh yes sir"

"I trained with you"

"Sir?" I couldn't remember one time when I had trained with Alex Rider for any reason. He face showed little emotion, but I saw a glimpse of the 16 year old boy he really was in that second.

"In ju-jitsu, we trained in the same dojo."

"Oh with Sensei Matthews! He was a mad man..." I blurted out, recognition flooding back.

"He once broke my wrist!" Alex smiled slightly then nodded, resuming his role again he turned and marched further down the aisle, upon reaching the end he turned and barked.

"Today we will start with a 5 mile run with fully packed sacks. Move now!"

I snapped out of my reverie and started shoving everything I had into my sack.

* * *

An hour later we were reaching the final leg of our run. My legs were screaming and I was gasping for air. I pumped my legs further trying to mentally reach for those fabled reserves of energy. The ground was wet and the country side was hilly. We had all been chosen by MI6 due to our fitness and skills. I was chosen due to my high level of proficiency in Ju-jitsu, with that came fitness. However it seemed that Rider's aim was to push us beyond and above our comfort zones. We all barely kept at the pace set for us and a few had thrown up already. I mentally prayed that my stomach would stay calm and my eyes would stop watering. I clenched my teeth and ground on. I hated the heavy boots we had to wear; it felt like running with two bricks strapped to each foot. The camped reared its head over the hill and I lost all sense of control. All I knew was that I had to reach that destination and still be alive at the end.

_Now _I wished I'd died somewhere in a field, my body never to be found, trampled underfoot by my comrades and swallowed up by the mud. The blood was pounding in my head as I completed another round of punching drills. My arms were leaden and my mouth dry. To obtain at least 1st Dan in Ju-jitsu, you have to train for at least 4 years. Despite the common misconception, martial arts aren't just the fancy moves; it involves the culture, human anatomy and weapons training. Determination, strategy and endurance are hammered into your body many different ways. Coming out of a training session you would feel sore, exhausted, sweaty yet exhilarated. The punishment was its own reward in a way. But in this case I just wanted to collapse and relish in the rest. Some of the people training had no martial arts experience at all and according to Rider that was necessary. We were given simple white gi and obi according to our ranking. The beginners had red belts, the colour of freshly spilt blood. He had taken us into a massive gymnasium, kitted out with floor mats and focus pads.

"You will learn the basics of striking and defence. If you are cornered at any point being able to fight your way out may be your only chance. You will do the same exercises until I am satisfied that you won't hurt yourselves." Alex strode into the middle. I felt the thrill of anticipation; he was getting ready to fight someone. I glanced around me to see who else I recognised as fellow black-belts. There was the small blond, Kate, who happened to be amazing at Karate and Johnny who was the belt below me in Ju-jitsu.

"The people you will encounter in the real world will be masters at what they do. You will only come out alive if you take advantage of every weakness and opportunity. They will not take it easy on you just because you are teenagers." He barked yanking the edge of his gi just enough to give us a glimpse of the deep scar he had from his bullet wound. "This is no time for complicated moves, all you need to do is get them on the ground quick and long enough to get away" I grinned, that was all the fun of martial arts.

"Taylor, could you give me a hand please?" I paused for a second unsure whether he was talking to me or someone else. No-one else moved so I shuffled onto the mats and faced Alex Rider.

"I will demonstrate on Michael here, please don't try this at home."

Next thing I knew I was being beaten to a pulp in front of dozens of class mates. I closed my eyes and groaned.

Thanks for reading! Please review!


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